Redwood National Park's 50th Anniversary

Redwood National and State Parks is now a complex of several state and national parks located along the coast of northern California. With a partnership between California and the U.S. government in the 1920’s, citizens and the state bought land to preserve some of the redwood groves. Parts of these purchases are now state parks. The federal government purchased some of the sections of redwood groves in the late 1960’s, making it a national park. The state parks and national park sections are in close proximity, and share many borders. Management and operations were combined in 1994.(Source: National Park Service (NPS) )

Interesting Facts about the Redwoods

• From a seed no bigger than one from a tomato, California's coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) may grow to a height of 367 feet (112 m) and have a width of 22 feet (7 m) at its base.
• The trees can reach ages of 2,000 years and regularly reach 600 years.
• Fossil records have shown that relatives of today's coast redwoods thrived in the Jurassic Era 160 million years ago.
• Resistance to natural enemies such as insects and fire are built-in features of a coast redwood. Diseases are virtually unknown and insect damage insignificant thanks to the high tannin content of the wood. Thick bark and foliage that rests high above the ground provides protection from all but the hottest fires.
• Aside from logging, the most frequent cause of death for mature redwoods is windthrow. The reason for this is that redwoods have no taproot. The roots only go down 10 to 13 feet (3-4 m) deep before spreading outward 60 to 80 feet (20-27 m).
(Source: NPS )

Related Publications

82 Stat. 931 - An Act to establish a Redwood National Park in the State of California, and for other purpose
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84 Stat. 825 - An Act to improve the administration of the national park system by the Secretary of the Interior, and to clarify the authorities applicable to the system, and for other purposes
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92 Stat. 163 - An act to amend the act of October 2, 1968, an act to establish a Redwood National Park in the State of California, and for other purposes
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97 Stat. 909 - Public Lands and National Parks Act of 1983
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16 U.S.C. 1 - NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES
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Other Resources

• FAQs about redwoods and the Redwood National and State Parks (NPS)
• Restoration at Redwood (NPS)
• Quick History of the National Park Service (NPS)
• 1916 Organic Act (39 Stat. 535) that established the National Park Service (U.S. Department of Justice)
• Learn more about the National Park Service’s 50th anniversary events (NPS).
• The Presidents and the National Parks (The White House Historical Association)
• Browse the U.S. Government Publishing Office's online bookstore for National Park Service publications such as, “Redwood: A Guide to Redwood National and State Parks, California."
• Search GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) to find more publications related to the Redwood National and State Parks. The CGP is the finding tool for federal publications that includes descriptive information for historical and current publications as well as direct links to the full document, when available.